Using advanced techniques to examine mineral composition and oxygen isotopes, the researchers scrutinized lunar soil and confirmed that the fragments came from CI-like chondrites — a type of meteorite rich in water and organic materials that typically originates in the outer Solar System.
The study implies that the Earth-Moon system may have experienced more collisions from carbonaceous chondrites than scientists had previously estimated.
This discovery not only indicates that material from the outer Solar System can migrate to the inner Solar System, but also has important implications for explaining the origin of water on the lunar surface, said Lin Mang, a researcher at GIG.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 